US President Donald Trump will host Thai junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha at the White House on October 3 as the pair seek to enhance warming ties and cooperation.

During the visit, which follows an invitation Trump extended during an April phone call, the pair will "discuss ways to strengthen and broaden bilateral relations and enhance cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region," the White House said in a statement.

A coup orchestrated by former Thai army chief Prayut had strained ties with the US administration, as the military jailed dissidents, banned protests and ramped up prosecutions under the kingdom's draconian lese majeste law, although he met Trump's predecessor Barack Obama during a ASEAN-US summit in California last year.

Source: AFP